The Goblin Girl
by Circe le Fey
Summary: Rhia is Jareth and Sarah's 15 year old daughter. Since her mother died when she was a baby, she has grown up with only her father and the creatures of the Labyrinth. But when an overworked teenage boy wishes his brother away, everything changes.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hey guys! Thanks so much for the reviews, they were very helpful. I was in a big hurry last night, and probably shouldn't have posted, hence the errors. I've tried to fix most of the errors I could find, unfortunately once I've read something over and over, I tend to stop noticing the mistakes, so a lot probably got a away from me. I've just started chapter 2, and now I have time to edit while I write, so it should be much better, I expect that it will be out around Wednesday.

Circe le Fey

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In the next room, Michael Jackson's 'Beat It' was blaring, so loud that it nearly drowned out the sound of two children screaming at each other. Jesse Miller, his twenty-month old baby brother hanging loosely in his grasp, stormed down the hall, and attempted to enter his bedroom. The door was locked, and as Jesse began hollering threats, one of his younger siblings on the other side burst into tears. "Erin, Luke, open up immediately, or I'm going to break it down, you hear me?" on the other side of the door the music stopped, and it sounded as if four year old Luke had been hurled into the radio. "Oh my God" Jesse groaned. "Erin cut it out, _now_" Luke's screams rose in pitch. "Erin! Erin, I'm calling mom." Erin didn't respond, continuing to pelt her little brother with stuffed animals and occasionally harder objects. All of the Miller children, down to baby Anthony, knew that their mother would never interrupt her work to come back, unless it was an absolute emergency. Luke was now sobbing and yelling at the same time. "Shit." Jesse leaned back against the door, his dark hair falling in his eyes, which had circles from lack of sleep and exhaustion. In his arms, Anthony burst into tears, waving his fists and struggling to be put down.

"Erin, if you don't open this door immediately, I'm going to leave you with Eric next time". That did it. Luke stopped screaming, and after a pause, Jesse could hear Erin fumbling with the lock. Eric, nineteen years old, was the epitome of a bullying older brother. It wasn't until Jesse had turned sixteen, on his last birthday, that he had finally outstripped Jason's 5'10, and been able to hold his own. But Erin and Luke still hated being left with Eric, and would beg Jesse to babysit instead. The door finally opened, and Jesse glared down at eight year old Erin, who looked the picture of innocence, but for the stuffed bear she was wielding like a club in one hand. "He's such a sissy" she said, glancing scornfully at Luke, who was still sniffling a little, but thankfully looked largely unharmed. Anthony, however, was still sobbing. Jesse set him down on the carpet, and grabbed the stuffed animal away from Erin. "He's four years old, and you scare the hell out of him. _And_ you've skipped my Michael Jackson CD. God, Erin, you're more trouble than you're worth. Go downstairs and watch TV or something. Luke, I'll get you guys dinner, as soon as I've given Anthony a bath and put him to bed. No more fighting" he added through clenched teeth. Erin swept downstairs, followed by Luke, who was still rubbing his eyes.

Jesse waited until he heard the TV safely on before turning on the bath water. Anthony was deathly afraid of water, which was why Jesse had avoided giving him a bath for the past three or four days. But now there was oatmeal beginning to cake in the little boy's dark curls, and Jesse was feeling guilty. The bath took over forty minutes, because of how Anthony was thrashing and screaming, and the baby was apparently so traumatized by the whole affair that he refused to go to bed afterwards. Erin and Luke's TV program had ended, and it had started raining by the time that Jesse finally tip-toed out of Anthony's room, and downstairs, to order pizza.

He was just getting off the phone with the pizza place, when Erin snuck up behind Luke, who was sitting at the table drinking, and yelled 'Boo' in his ear. Luke jumped, and shrieked at the top of his lungs. Jesse jumped as well, and then clenched his fists, counting silently in his head. . . one, two, three, fou- Wah!! "Anthony" Jesse said quietly, and then his voice rose "why can't you just go to sleep. Why can't you all just be quiet!" he growled at Erin and Luke, who just looked at him, their eyes wide.

As Jesse raced upstairs, thunder sounded outside, and words from an old book that he had been given by his father's best friend, Toby Williams, came back to Jesse. It was more of a girl's story, but it still had some adventure in it, and he'd always liked the part where the goblins took unwanted children.

Anthony was still crying when Luke and Erin started fighting again downstairs. With a groan, Jesse left Anthony still wailing, and was on the top step when he spoke without even realizing it. "I wish the goblins would come and take you away" he said, "right now". For a half a step, nothing happened, and then, a current ran through the house.

There was another bolt of lightning, and suddenly the power went out. Downstairs, Luke and Erin were yelling something to him, something that sounded like 'big owl', but Jesse was concentrating on something else. In the bedroom Anthony and Luke shared, Anthony had stopped crying. But not gradually, as if he were slowly falling asleep. His sobs had been abruptly cut off. And as he turned back to the room, Jesse felt a part of him go cold.

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Review!!


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Hey! Thanks so much for the reviews, sorry about the late update. School started, my computer had some major problems, and then I got sick. But I am so excited about this story that from now on the updates should be quicker.

Let me know if there are any errors, and please review!!

Circe le Fey

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Rhia spun a crystal on the tip of her finger, drawing awed glances from the goblins around her that were sober enough to see straight. The rest just stared groggily into the distance, some swilling more rum. It was mid morning in the underground, and one of the rare occasions when Rhia was bored. Generally Rhia spent her mornings venturing through the Labyrinth, seeing what was new, but this morning she and her father had argued, and he was making her stay in the castle until after noon. The castle was nice enough, but spending hours inside with all of the smelly goblins was less than pleasant. So Rhia had gone to the library, the only place where goblins weren't, and found some interesting looking books. She would have stayed in the library, but it was cold, and something about it always made her feel lonely, maybe the fact that it had been collected entirely for her mother.

So now she was sitting in the throne room, attempting to read, while the goblins busily pelted each other with things, and howled epithets, most of which were mispronounced. Everyone quieted down for a moment, while she spun the crystal, and then abruptly, a deeper silence fell. One by one, all heads in the throne room turned. Goblins that had been unconscious only moments before, stood up and shook themselves, eyes wide, waiting. Rhia was the last one to glance up, putting her crystal down slowly, and letting her gaze fall on her father, who was also waiting, his eyes gleaming just a little. "I wish that the goblins would come and take you away, right now" the voice was that of an older boy, distant and tired. A ripple ran through the entire court, everyone was still, and Jareth shut his eyes, and his face got that hard, far away look that it always did. Seconds later he was vanishing in a whirl of fabric, and then an owl flew out of the castle window, straight for the sky. Likewise, several goblins had vanished.

"Another child" Rhia murmured to herself. Children were always both a very sad, and very exciting occasion. Sad because Rhia always felt a little bad for them, especially if they had truly been wished away by accident, and exciting, because having a little one around changed everything. Rhia glanced around the throne room, which was quieter now, as everyone waited. Well now, Rhia thought, now might be a good time to leave, by the time her father got back, he would be too busy running the Labyrinth and caring for the child to bother with her. Rhia could go find Hoggle or Ludo, or maybe see who was running the Labyrinth this time.

Her father had no idea that she ever took any interest in the people who ran the Labyrinth. Not that she actually met them or anything, but she would watch them, through her crystals, and sometimes even from behind bushes or walls. Something about them fascinated her. It was how her parents had met after all, her mother had accidently wished away her little brother, and though hundreds of people had run the Labyrinth before, something about Sarah Williams had been different.

Sarah had also been the first, (and last) person to solve the Labyrinth, a fact which made Rhia immensely proud of her mother. She had been exactly the same age as Rhia was now, and had thumbed her nose up at the Goblin King, and then, unexpectedly, had returned years later. Rhia still didn't know why exactly, she had never heard the story from her father, only from a handful of creatures from the Labyrinth, mainly Hoggle, the aging dwarf gardener. Jareth would never talk about Sarah very much, even to her daughter.

Rhia loved her life in the Labyrinth, the magic, the change, the mystery and the variety. But apart from a slew of strange creatures, and her ancient father, she had grown up alone. Once, when she was five, and complained of her lack of human playmates, he had allowed the little four year old that had been wished away to stay human for a while, rather than being turned into a goblin. And then one day when she was ten, he had kissed her, a little peck on the cheek, that Rhia had barely even felt. But Jareth had seen, and his wrath had been incredible. The boy had been instantly turned into a goblin, and then just as quickly deposited in the bog of eternal stench. The goblin that had been the boy now stayed with Sir Didymus, and though Rhia went to visit him every so often, he had almost no memory of her. Goblins rarely remembered their lives as non-goblins.

It was the first thing she resented her father for. Then came his incredible unwillingness to talk about anything to do with Sarah, and then the lengths to which he would go to keep his daughter sheltered from the mortal world. "There's nothing special up there" he would tell her, "all of the magic is in the underground. Aboveground there is nothing but drudgery" "Mama was from aboveground" she had once answered him. "She was different" was all he said, before walking out. It was always that way, "Sarah was different. Sarah was special" never any details.

Rhia silently made a fist, and the crystal nearest to her vibrated slightly. Abruptly she sighed, loosened her fist, and looked around. If she wanted to get out, now was the time. She would go see what was happening with Ludo. She wasn't in the mood for visiting the Bog today, and at this time of day Hoggle would be working at the Labyrinth entrance, where the new runner would be.

Rhia left the throne room quickly, twirling a crystal absently as she jogged down stairs, corridors, and through large rooms full of goblins and stray farm animals. It was unusually quiet, the sort of silence that always descended when there was a new runner. All of the goblins had a certain telepathic link with the Goblin King, allowing him to make them materialize where ever he wished, and whenever he went out to get children, they stayed quiet and on call, waiting to be summoned. A very few of them paid any special attention to Rhia, though all showed some form of submission as she passed.

The Goblin City was virtually deserted, only a few very small goblins out, wandering to and fro. Even though all of the goblins more or less had homes, they were all inexplicably drawn to the palace, despite the dangers of being near Jareth. Rhia walked briskly out of the gates, and then paused for a moment, shutting her eyes, the crystal next to her humming as she felt how to get where she wanted to go. The Labyrinth changed too much for anyone but Jareth to keep track of it, but if Rhia concentrated, she could feel the latest changes, and it was usually enough to guide her around with relative ease.

Ludo had a small den at the edge of the forest, but Rhia arrived there to find that he wasn't home. It occurred to her that he was probably simply visiting with Sir Didymus, but she didn't feel like waiting for him to come back. Instead, she felt a great urge to go see Hoggle. Why not? She thought, so long as she stayed out of the runner's way, she wouldn't get in trouble.

As she neared the entrance to the Labyrinth, Rhia gazed at her crystal for a moment, silently willing it to show her what she wished to see. The runner was a young man, as she had already guessed, maybe a few years older than her. Through the shadowy view, she could not quite make out his face, but could see shaggy dark hair, and a large frame. Hhmm, a brother, or a teenage father? Not that she cared of course. Rhia climbed up on one of the walls, so she would be able to see around her. She caught sight of Hoggle first, nearby, sprinkling an orange fertilizing powder on the eyes that grew on the walls of the Labyrinth. Then she saw the runner, still in the first corridor, the one that seemed to have no openings. It was one of the few parts of the labyrinth that had been there for as long as Rhia could remember, due to it's effectiveness. Rhia craned her neck slightly, trying to catch a better look at the boy, who was wearing a pair of faded blue pants, and a loose black shirt. The boy's hair was dark and messy, and he was so tense and strained that she could feel it from here. He must really want the little one back, she thought to herself, while at the same time wishing that she could see him better.

She took one last glance at Hoggle, who still hadn't seen her, and then looked back at the runner. She wouldn't get too close, she told herself, just enough so she could see him better. After all, she told herself, there isn't anything wrong with being a little curious. She jumped down from the wall, and began to creep closer, up to one of the openings that the boy was missing. She glanced out just as he passed by, her body in shadow, and caught sight of his face. He looked exhausted, and so tense, so worried, so guilty, that Rhia looked down for a moment. He was actually quite attractive though, she realized as she glanced back at him. She really should turn around and go back to Hoggle now, but for some reason, all interest in exploring the Labyrinth had evaporated. Rhia felt the same inexplicable pull that she always had to the above ground. And it wouldn't hurt to follow the boy just a little bit longer. Silently hoping that her father wasn't watching, she slipped out of the opening, and slowly followed him down the corridor.

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Please Review!!

Circe le Fey


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Thanks to all reviewers! Sorry for the late update, school, rehearsals, fencing practice, and my grandfather's recent illness have all kept me away. Things seem to be settling down now, though, unless our car breaks down. . . Anyway, this started out as a long chapter, but I just wanted to hurry up and post it, so I broke it in two, and now half of the next chapter is written. I'll probably post it around Friday. Let me know if there are any errors, and please read and review. My reviewers are the only ones who keep me from giving up on fan fiction, and just sticking to my own stories at home. Review!

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Jesse had never been as stunned as when he caught sight of the Goblin King standing in Anthony's dark bedroom. He hadn't been able to stay stunned long though, and now there was only one thought on his mind: Anthony. But he couldn't get out of this one corridor. He had been walking for thirty precious minutes, and he still couldn't find any openings. Maybe he should have started in the other direction. Maybe there weren't any openings in this part of the labyrinth.

He was just considering climbing the walls to try to see his way ahead, when something suddenly didn't feel right. Chills ran up and down his spine, the same sort of feeling he got whenever his little sister Erin was hiding around a corner, planning to jump out on him. He ignored it for about three steps, and then stopped. It's just your imagination, he told himself, but it didn't feel that way. With a sigh, he turned around. There was nothing there, just the long, eerie corridor.

He had gone another three steps, when that creepy feeling came back. Only this time, Jesse could have sworn that he heard just the faintest noise, as well. His skin began to crawl slightly, and then, quickly, he whirled around. Just as he did so, he caught the faintest glimpse of something, a figure that quickly seemed to vanish into the wall.

In the split second where Jesse didn't believe his eyes, he paused, and then, doing his best to act nonchalant, turned back around and kept walking, as calmly as he could. He waited until he heard the noises again, slower and more cautious this time, and then whirled back around mid-step.

For one split second, he faced a girl who looked about his age, her eyes widened with shock that matched his, and then she took off running. Without even thinking, Jesse ran after her. Whatever she was doing here, she might know how to find the Goblin King's castle, or at the very least, where to find some turns. And if not, it wasn't as if he had been getting somewhere on his own.

But the girl was very fast, and as he watched, she seemed to vanish into the side of the corridor. Jesse barely had time to skid to a stop behind her, nearly smashing into the wall. Jesse stared at it, blinking while he caught his breath. She had just run into it, and disappeared, as if it had swallowed her up. A sneaking suspicion grew in the back of his mind, and he slowly leaned towards the wall, expecting to feel his nose against the cold stone at any moment. Instead, he stuck his head into an alley, that seemed to run parallel to the one he had been pacing for the last half an hour.

Still slightly shocked, Jesse stepped into the alley, looking around for the girl. He couldn't see her, but he could have sworn that he could hear her footsteps echoing around the corner. Jesse ran after her, pausing every minute or so, to listen for her footsteps. Wherever she had led him, it was finally starting to look like a Labyrinth, there were plenty of turns and doors. He could stop, and try to figure his own way around, but at best he would just be guessing, and as far as he could see, this girl seemed to know what she was doing.

Just as Jesse was thinking that, the footsteps stopped.

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Read and Review!! Come on!!

Circe le Fey


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: A huge thanks to all my reviewers so far! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. I wanted to post it quickly, but there might be a few errors, I'll be back to edit it soon, so if you find any, let me know so I can fix them. Review, please, now that I've gotten to the 'good part', updates should be quicker. Thanks!!

Circe le Fey

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Rhia scrambled hastily up the wall, panting. This was not the way it was supposed to work. How could she have been so clumsy as to get herself caught? Her father would have a fit if he saw her now. She ducked low on the wall as the boy ran by, looking around for her. She just hoped he didn't happen to look up. At first, he didn't. He glanced around, and then cocked his head, listening. She held her breath, feeling terribly conspicuous.

He was just starting to move again, as if ready to walk away, when suddenly, faster than her eyes could follow, he whipped around, and reached up and grabbed her arm. A brief struggle ensued, and it ended with Rhia falling off the wall. She knocked him over on her way down, and landed on his arm, before springing up almost immediately. He didn't let her go though, jumping up and grabbing her shoulder, pulling her around to face him. She grappled with him a little, all the while wondering if her father was going to appear at any minute.

How humiliating, honestly, wrestling with some aboveground boy that had wished away an innocent child. "Let me go" she hissed, reaching up to scratch at his face. In a minute they were both going to be in a lot more trouble than they bargained for. He batted her hand aside, and grabbed her wrist. Rhia responded by stomping on his foot, bringing her boot heel down hard on his toes, his eyes widened with pain, but he didn't let go of her arms. "What is wrong with you?" he stared at her, "I just want to ask you some questions". "I'm sure you do" she growled, hooking her leg around his in an attempt to trip him. "Okay, that's it!" the boy swung them both around, and grabbed hold of her arms, standing far enough away that she couldn't knock him over. Rhia made an attempt to bite his hand, but this time he stamped on her foot, and she paused for a moment. This was ridiculous. Rhiannon, daughter of Sarah Williams, and Jareth, King of the Goblins, locked in this little scuffle. How undignified. And it would be even more undignified if she wasn't allowed out of the castle for another fifteen years. In the interests of ending this little interaction as quickly and painlessly as possible, without being detected by her father, Rhia stopped, and stood straight.

Jesse paused, and watched the girl quietly for a second, expecting her to bolt within a moment. But she just stood there, glaring at him, her green eyes narrow. Right. So. . . "Um, who are you?" he asked slowly. She just blinked at him. "Well, I mean, in the book they mention the Goblin King, but they don't say anything about a girl, unless. . . you're not a goblin or anything, are you?" He winced, she had just kicked him in the shins. "Do I look like one, you stupid aboveground boy?" she had a low, mocking sort of voice, that reminded him vaguely of someone, but at the moment he couldn't think who. "Right, watch who you're calling child" he told her, but not too unpleasantly. He did need her help after all. "So. . . Who are you?" she paused a moment. "My name is Rhia" she said finally, "and I live in the Labyrinth" "I didn't know any humans lived here" he said, looking at her. She was on the tall side, slim and lithe, with wild dark hair and green eyes. Her skin was startlingly pale, and something about her face was just a little exotic, a little. . . inhuman. "But why, what are you?" he asked.

She glared at him. "I got chased up a wall, dragged back down, and tackled, because you want to know _what_ I am?" "You were following me first" he pointed out, "and, I guess it's really none of my business, what, who, you are. What I need to know is how to get to the castle at the center of the Labyrinth" she stiffened slightly under his hands, and he tightened his hold, expecting her to start struggling again. Instead she just shook her head. "I'm sorry, but that simply isn't possible. And you're squeezing my wrist. Hard" he loosened his grasp only slightly, and she glared at him, wisps of loose dark hair falling in her face. "Why not?" Jesse asked. "If you live here, then you should know how to get through the Labyrinth." "Oh, I can get through the Labyrinth" she told him calmly, "but I can't show you". He glared at her, "why not?" she rolled her eyes, "I have an allergy to obnoxious boys that don't even have the manners to introduce themselves." They both paused.

"My name is Jesse" he said, pronouncing it Jessie. "Jesse? Isn't that a girl's name?" she smirked. "Sometimes" he said, "there's a famous singer named that though" "are you a famous singer?" she asked, so seriously that it took him a moment to realize that she was mocking him. He rolled his eyes, "listen, I haven't got time for this. I've introduced myself, will you take me to the castle now?" she shook her head. "Sorry, I can't". "Why not?" he asked, frustrated. She shrugged calmly, "can't. It's against the rules". "The rules, whose rules?" "The Goblin King's rules" she answered. He paused for a minute, feeling like smacking her, and then decided on another tactic. "Oh, I see" Jesse remarked "so you're just as scared stiff of the King as that dwarf gardener I met by the door. Funny, I would have thought that you had more back bone. I guess not." Her eyes narrowed, and she jerked back from him. "I am not scared stiff of the King" she said scathingly. Well, not exactly, she thought.

Jesse raised an eyebrow at her. "Sure, of course not. You just obey his every rule-" "I do not-" she paused, thinking. It was a very, very bad idea, that would get them both in a lot of trouble, but. . . She could take him a little of the way at least, just long enough to maybe see a little more of him. There was no way he would beat the Labyrinth, even with a little bit of help, not wasting time the way he was, and if she only guided him a little of the way, there was a possibility that her father wouldn't catch them. As much as he was annoying her, quarreling with him at least sounded a little better than spending the evening alone.

Jesse held his breath as she stared past him, her startlingly green eyes narrow with thought. Finally, she looked at him. "I'll take you a little of the way" she said finally, watching a his eyes widened. "You will?" he asked, smiling at her. "Yes" she said, a little sourly. Just a moment ago he had been glaring at her, and now all of a sudden she was his new best friend. Typical.

He let go of her wrists, and she pulled away from him, and started walking away, quickly.

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Review, please, and release Chapter 5, which is currently imprisoned in my mind.

Circe le Fey


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